Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

We had the most fabulous honeymoon I ever could have imagined!!! I mean it was like a dream! Anyone thinking of going there, I have one word - GO!!! It's very expensive but so worth it, especially for this kind of once in a lifetime vacation. SO here's the deal....

It takes a real long time to get there but actually the way there is no big deal because you're so excited, it's coming back that's rough. If you're going to fly Air Tahiti Nui out of LA - be sure to ask for bulk head or emergency row seats, it's a very tightly packed plane. If you or your husband is over 5'5' - it's going to be rough. Plus it's 8+ hours long so it's not all that comfy.

Also, if you're like me and like to eat a big breakfast every day when you're on vacation, definitely get the breakfast meal plan included. Breakfast is a buffet at all the hotels - absolutely excellent buffets but expensive. Breakfast will run you around $45 for two a day for the buffet. Some places don't let you order ala carte so see into the meal plan. I would only do the breakfast one though, because it's fun to eat outside the hotel for dinner and even lunch sometimes.

Tahiti is not even worth the stop over! I know it sounds crazy because everyone thinks Tahiti is synonymous with the tropical paradise you're expecting in the South Pacific, but it's actually pretty dirty, nothing to do, not much to see (unless you're really into going to the Gaugin Museum!). If you must stay a night or two, we stayed a Le Meridien in a junior suite and it was a beautiful hotel. One problem - the pool was out of order when we arrived. Which would have been no big deal if it weren't for the fact that the only reason I booked that hotel was for the pool. No big whoop, we were only there a day and a half.

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Next we went to Moorea - unbelievable!! We were booked on a flight, which is 10 minutes long and 10 minutes scary!! It's a teensy plane that seats 8 or something. We didn't take the flight and instead took the ferry which is $10 and takes 30 minutes. Definitely the way to go. The ferry ride was so nice and pretty and not at all scary!!!

We stayed at 2 hotels in Moorea, each for 3 nights. The first was the Pearl. Beautiful, not too big, very friendly staff, good food, great pool. We had a deluxe overwater there and it was gorgeous. The water is really deep outside of the bungalows which is nice to dive into. The rooms are beautiful! The only thing is the bathroom only has a bathtub and no stand up shower. Also, the water pressure and temperature is not the strongest or the hotest. I was a little worried and thought it would be like that in all the bungalows but all the other had great water pressure and really hot water. It's not a huge deal but just something to think about when booking. The Pearl is pretty new, just opened in June, so they may have that water issue taken care of by the time anyone else goes. The Pearl is also close to town, a 5 minute walk, so it's nice to try new places for lunch or to go to the bank or post office it's convenient.
Then we were off to the Sheraton. That's a gorgeous hotel - but we found it poorly managed. We actually had a bit of a nightmare with our reservations. We used Liberty Travel (a whole other nightmare) and booked this last December, only to find out 2 weeks before our wedding when we went to pay our final payment that the Sheraton had cancelled our reservations because they overbooked and Liberty dropped the ball on it and yada yada. Anyway, we were outraged! We finally wound up getting 3 nights back at the Sheraton but that's why we had to stay at the Pearl for 3 nights. We found out that many people were arriving in Moorea thinking that they were staying at the Sheraton and meanwhile they weren't because the Sheraton had cancelled their reservation without telling them and they were being shipped to another hotel! Could you imagine!!! I'm just telling you this because all else is great at this hotel, it's probably the best 5 star on the island, but it's very poorly managed so be careful!!! Other than that the rooms are great, the water is shallow with tons of coral so there are a lot of fish to watch. The restaurants and bars are very good.

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Restaurants to go to in Moorea:
Definitely go to Alfredo's, great food, and they pick you up from your hotel and bring you back.
Te Honu Iti - very good food, very Polyenesian, if you sit on the deck by the water you can watch the fish and sting rays come up to the restaurant looking for food. Kind of expensive but they also pick you up and bring you back.Allo Pizza - THEY DELIVER!!! Good pizza and they take it to your hotel. Real nice when you're missing home!!
Le Motu - nice little place for lunch, burgers, great fries, great pizza
Le Patisserie - in the shopping center right by the Pearl. Great crepes, omelets, burgers, all that good stuff, pretty cheap too.

Things to do in Moorea:
Don't miss the Jeep safari tour it was a blast and usually booked into any package you get.
We went scuba diving twice using the dive center at the Pearl. The instructors were awesome and we had the best time. We're not certified either. We went on one introductory dive and then he took us into the ocean and we dove with sharks. It was incredible!!!
Sunset Cruise was great and really beautiful.
Black Pearl shopping


Off to Bora Bora, the most beautiful island I've ever seen. Truly a tropical paradise! The plane is a bit bigger than the one that takes you to Moorea, it seats around 40 and the flights were actually really smooth and not as scary as I thought they would be. We were staying in a beach suite at the Pearl Resort. We thought we'd mix it up and stay on land since we were booked overwater the rest of the time - big mistake. We missed being overwater!!! We moved to an overwater at the Pearl and the room was beautiful!!! The water there is gorgeous, the food was great (although I hear room service isn't so good there) and the view is beautiful. As it turned out, they had to move us to Le Meridien to stay in an overwater bungalow but that turned out to be our favorite hotel! Le Meridien is unbelievable. The most beautiful view, the rooms are extremely nice. Instead of having a glass cocktail table like the other hotels, the whole floor between the bed and couch is glass. It is so wild, you can watch everything. The water is beautiful outside the bungalows! It's a very expensive hotel, probably the most expensive one we stayed at, but it's so awesome. The food was very good, they have a private lagoon they build where you can snorkel with 100 different types of fish and around 4 sea turtles! This was a big plus since my husband LOVES turtles. It was so cool.

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Places to eat on Bora Bora:
Don't miss the Bamboo House - this was our favorite restaurant for the whole trip, excellent food, slow service, a bit pricey, they also will pick you up and bring you back.
Bloody Mary's is a must go and is excellent. The fish is so fresh and delicious.

Things to do:
If you're not staying at Le Meridien, take a trip and go snorkling in their lagoon, it's well worth the trip.
We did the private picnic on a motu with champagne and lobster - this was the best thing we did on the whole vacation!! Expensive (around $450!) but so worth it. It's a 6 hour trip, you own private tour of the island with places to stop off and snorkel. Then lunch sitting in the lagoon while your lobster gets grilled up in a bbq that is also in the water while you sip champagne and check out the fish swimming around your legs. It's just unbelievable!! I'll post pics as soon as I get them!

Feel free to ask me questions. I'm here to help!!! Good luck to everyone!!!

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ALL THE TAHITI HONEYMOONERS OUT THERE!!!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

very awesome ya gotta post pics!!
my dream is to go to bora bora and stay in one of those overwater bungalows but it doesnt fit our budget at the present time.
PICS PICS please!

I am glad you had a wonderful & safe honeymoon!
Congrats!!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

I'm glad you had such an awesome time!!! Too bad my DH doesn't like to fly! Congrats!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Tracy - congratulations on your marriage and your wonderful honeymoon! Isn't French Polynesia just the best most exotic place in the world?? I still dream about our honeymoon there!

I am so sorry to hear you had problems with the Sheraton on Moorea. We stayed there, and it was fabulous! They treated us like royalty! We were upgraded to a private overwater bungalow at no extra charge. I'm sorry your experience wasn't the same.

We also stayed at the Pearl Beach on Bora Bora...again, top notch! I LOVE that place...DH and I definitely would like to go back some day!

Congrats again - can't wait to see you pics!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

thanks for the great review. we bought one of those guidebooks that we are going through now to try and plan some stuff out. it sounds great. we can't wait!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

I just had to post a quick response on here because we also just got back from our French Polynesia honeymoon. We visited Tahiti, Bora Bora and Rangiroa and had an amazing time. Our favorite place was Hotel Bora Bora. I can't even begin to tell you how much we loved that resort. Also, we spent 3 nights on the island of Tahiti, which is a bit unusual but totally worth it. Once you get out of the city, there is a ton to see and do there. The interior is unlike any of the other islands (with the exception of maybe Moorea, but I don't know if the Moorea interior is as accessible)...lush forests, waterfalls, springs. Our one regret is that we didn't get to do the full day 4x4 tour.

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Danielle -
Welcome back - isn't it tough coming back to reality once your down there! I was wondering how you liked Rangiora (sp?)?? We were considering a few other islands to go back to one day and thought that looked nice. Where did you stay?? Was there much to do?? We were also thinking about Hotel Bora Bora but were turned off because it didn't have a pool, I bet you don't need a pool there right?? Did you stay in an overwater??? Tell me everything... My husband and I can't wait to go back!!!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

I was so eagerly awaiting your review, b/c my hubby and I have it on our list of places to visit. I cannot wait. It sounds absolutely divine. I cannot wait to see your pictures. Thanks for the long well detailed description. I am copying everything you wrote. I cannot wait for our turn. I do not know when it will be, but I know it will be so worth it.

Thanks so much

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Tracy Congratulations!
Thanks for the great review. We leave Nov 3 for the same Islands, we are staying at The Sheraton on Morrea, and the Le Meriden on Bora Bora, we will only be in Tahiti one night at the Sheraton. It is so great to hear such wonderful things. I am so glad you had such an amazing trip. I can't wait to go. I just have two questions. How was the weather? And What should I pack??
Thanks!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Nicole!
Congrats! You are so lucky - you're going to have a great time!!! The weather is just beautiful. Usually around 85 in the day and around 70 at night but there is always a beautiful breeze. The sun is pretty darn hot so be sure and bring lots of sunblock. We used 5 tubes! It only rained 2 days when we were there, no big whoop. But it is recommended to bring a pancho or little umbrella just in case.
Packing... I packed way too much. All I wore was a bathing suit and swim pants in the day (Victoria's Secret has great swim pants on sale and they are so comfortable!). At night I had a dress or some other cute outfit. Usually you'll need a small sweater or something because it can get pretty windy at night, it's so nice! Be sure to bring swim shoes, the ladders on the overwater bungalow are usually full of algea and you don't want to step on them in bare feet! I brought 4 bathing suits and 2 swim pants and 2 sarongs. Also, an outfit for each night, a few pair of shorts and t-shirts (I brought way too many shorts and t-shirts, I didn't really wear that too much). Also, it depends on what you like to do. We were big into water things, the only 'land' excursion we did was a safari in Moorea and I even wore my bathing suit to that, just in case. If you like more land activities you might need more shorts and things like that. I also only wore my thong slippers or water shoes, hardly ever wore my sneakers. I could go on and on about this... I can't wait to go back!
Also, film and underwater cameras are a must - be sure to buy them here. We had to spend $60 on an underwater camera!! Let me know if you have any other questions!! Congrats!!!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

I am considering going to Tahiti for our honeymoon, but my one fear are bugs. I am petrified of crawling insects!!! Can you let me know if you had any bad experiences with pests?

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Scheca!
I was worried about bugs too. Actually, a woman I work with went on her honeymoon there and told me there were tons of mosquitos. I was worried so I spent $30 on bug spray - I didn't use it once! I got a few mosquito bites but I really didn't see any other bugs, I get mosquito bites where ever I go, they find me and bite me whereever I go!!! We slept with the doors open and the windows (without screens) each night and there were no bugs. They do have those little lizzard things down there like they have in Florida, but you hardly see them. If bugs are your concern I wouldn't worry.

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Can't wait to see your pics. We are leaving Nov 19th!!!! Will be there for 12 days

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Tracy,

Did you happen to eat at the Top Dive in Bora Bora? I hear the food is supposed to be great.

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

Jen!
Actually we didn't get to go to TopDive. I wanted to do but we never made it. I've heard good things about it.
I'm so happy for you - you're going to have so much fun!!!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

thanks traceyann! I appreciate your input as that is our major concern right now. we are deciding between tahiti and hawaii!

Re: Honeymoon Review - Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora (Very Long!)

We are actually staying there so I will let you know how it is. We are very excited. We just got a travel book and are looking up good places to go/eat. Matt loves to eat so we will be poor when we get back but I think it will be worth it.

POST PICS!!!!